Two Leetonia Exempted Village High School students have been recognized for their artwork by the Ohio governor. 

The 54th Ohio Governor's Youth Art Exhibition honored sophmore Dagny Smith and freshman Jordan Taormina for their accomplishments. Smith's digital artwork series entitled, Isolation, will soon be displayed in the Governor's office in Columbus during the month of May. 

Smith's piece was among the top 0.08% of the more than 8,000 high school artworks that were submitted to the 2024 Ohio Governor's Youth Art Exhibition. Smith's piece is among 25 works chosen to be part of the Governor's private 'Cameo Show' in his offices, and will hang there through the month of May.

Smith's award-winning work began with an independent photo assignment in her digital photography course. Smith was inspired by surrealism, and brought the themes and messages she drew from surrealism into her photography project. 

"My goal with this project was an attempt to portray my emotions through photography. I wanted to take what I feel and make it visible to those who will see them. I used symbolic inorganic objects, as well as open empty spaces to show isolation. I also put in effort to specifically show anxiety, depression, and mild distress. I did this by using dark and gloomy lighting, and other effects, to portray such emotions," said Smith about her winning work.

Smith recently won Best in Show, in the high school division, at the Columbiana County Educational Service Center 2024 Student Art Show at the end of February. Smith also placed in the Cameo Show of the Governor's Youth Exhibition, but also had another piece, titled Shrouded, place at the regional level.

Leetonia High School art teacher, Kaitlyn Culp Morris, describes how Smith always takes her art seriously and is intrinsically motivated to work outside of class time because she is passionate about what she is making. Culp Morris states, "Clearly, Dagny is a force to be reckoned with in the arts. Here at Leetonia, we are so proud of her and this amazing accomplishment. We are excited to see what is yet to come from this talented young artist!"

Dagny plans on continuing her studies within art but also has a passion for film editing, which she is considering as a career path after college. 

Out of 300 student artworks regionally, Leetonia High School freshman, Jordan Taormina, placed in the top 15%.

"For one of our photo assignments, I was looking for an interesting perspective to frame my subject matter. Looking around the house, I found a plastic water bottle. Using the bottle as the frame, it provided a focal point of the flowers in the distance. The bottle also provided a reflection of the water droplets and flowers which created a more visually interesting photograph," describes Taormina.

If interested in viewing Smith's work along with the other winning artists statewide, there will be a special ceremony at noon on Sunday, April 21st and the exhibition will be on display through May 16th at the Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus.